Polish fintech startup BidFinance, the creator of an innovative auction platform for trading debt portfolios, has raised €1,6 million in funding from venture capital funds 4growth VC, FundingBox, Digital Ocean Ventures, and a group of business angels. The company shared the news with AIN.

About BidFinance

  • BidFinance, founded in 2022 by Zenia Karastoyanov, is a Polish startup which digitizes and standardizes the debt portfolio trading process. The platform connects sellers (including banks, loan companies, telecoms, leasing firms, and energy companies) with potential buyers (collection agencies, investment funds, and law firms). 

  • Leveraging an innovative auction model, BidFinance enhances transaction transparency, maximizes sellers' sale prices, and lowers buyers' entry barriers.

  • Since its inception, the company has completed over 70 transactions, with listed debt portfolios totaling over €280 million (PLN 1.2 billion). Currently, nearly 70 active buyers on the BidFinance platform represent 90% of the market.

“The key advantage of our solution over the traditional debt portfolio sales model is the maximization of the seller's price. One of our clients previously sold its debt portfolios at an average of 15% of their value. After listing the portfolio on our platform, the price increased to 26%. So far, the maximum added value to the portfolio's starting price during an auction has exceeded 80%,” says Zenia Karastoyanov, CEO of BidFinance. 

Investment details

The new funding round was backed by 4growth VC, FundingBox, Digital Ocean Ventures, and a group of business angels.

  • 4growtkh VC is a Warsaw-based venture capital firm established in 2022. The firm specializes in investing in growth-stage startups with global scalability, particularly in sectors such as fintech, insurtech, and medtech.

  • The fund previously invested in Polish medtech Saventic Health​, marketplace Plenti and medtech FindAir.

  • FundingBox is developing Europe’s deep tech funding ecosystem, supporting startups, scale-ups, and entrepreneurs. It provides funding opportunities at various stages of growth, distributing over €100 million in equity-free funds.

  • The funds' capital comes from PFR's European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) program aimed at supporting the Polish startup ecosystem.

The capital injection will enable BidFinance to further strengthen its position in the Polish market and accelerate its international expansion, revolutionizing the debt trading process. 

BidFinance also plans to enter the Nordic countries first, where the annual unsecured debt sales are estimated at €8-10 billion. The company expects to generate its first international revenues in 2025, thanks to existing collaborations with European entities.